Dog-shooting incident: Shooter 'within his rights'

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GRAND LAKE — An incident in which a Siberian husky was shot and killed for attacking chickens on a man’s property resulted in no citations issued, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

A Grand Lake-area resident living in the Lake Forest Subdivision shot and killed a 3-year-old male Siberian husky attacking chickens on his property on Wednesday, Aug. 14. The incident report states the man who shot the dog three times felt the husky put his wife and his own three small dogs in “serious danger” and would attack if he did not shoot. The husky reportedly had killed three chickens and was carrying one in its mouth when the homeowner shot him.

The husky’s owner — a neighbor — was very angry and upset over the incident, according to the report, and told the deputy “he felt there was no reason to shoot the dog over some chickens.”

The deputy informed the Husky owner the homeowner “was within his rights to protect his animals and family,” the report states.

The sheriff’s office determined that according to county law, raising chickens on the property is legal. “There is nothing I am aware of against the county rules for owning chickens,” said Johnson; although neighborhood covenants in certain subdivisions may or may not allow the practice.